Well it’s official: the 30th American Cheese Society annual conference and competition is now on the books as one of the biggest (and do I daresay best?) cheesy shindigs in the history of cheese nerd conventions. Ever.

With nearly 1,000 cheese geeks from across North America descending upon Madison, Wisconsin this past week to talk, eat and sell cheese, most everyone is now on their way home or has made it to their final destination with their bellies full of cheese and their briefcases full of business cards. And let me just say that after spending the past 15 months planning 32 seminars, 5 tours, numerous special events and a grand Festival of Cheese featuring nearly 1,800 different cheeses for the tasting, co-chairs Bob Wills, Sara Hill and I are ready for a nap.

But before I nod off, let’s share a few photo highlights of the week.

Here’s my cheese-sister-in-crime Sara Hill after being inducted into the prestigous Guilde Internationale Des Fromagers. Check out the website – it’s in French – so you know it’s important. Sara has worked 30 years in the cheese industry and deserves this honor. Congrats, Sara!

Next, let me be the first person to tell every retailer in the nation that you need to carry the new Savory Spoon Panforte, which debuted at Saturday night’s Festival of Cheese. Featuring locally sourced cherries and honey, along with the traditional nuts which made this 15th Century Italian dessert famous, the Door County, Wisconsin version crafted by Janice Thomas can be cut to order or sold in small, gift wooden boxes sourced from France. Two words: super yummy. Contact eatpanforte@savoryspoon.com to order.

Willi Lehner and his Third Place Best in Show Bandaged Cheddar and Big Sky Grana (for the first time ever, the same cheesemaker tied himself for a Best in Show ribbon) – may have (rightfully) stolen the show …

But probably the happiest cheesemaker to win a ribbon may have been Martha Davis Kipcak maker of Martha’s Pimento Cheese. When Martha’s Pimento Cheese with Jalapenos was announced as the second place winner in the Cold Pack Cheese and Spreads with Flavor Added category, she almost couldn’t stand up in shock. But you should have seen her face when the announcer proclaimed she had also taken FIRST in the category with her original Martha’s Pimento Cheese. For someone who’s been in the food industry for 15 years, but only making cheese for less than a year, this is a well-deserved honor. Congratulations, Martha!

Before the conference proper started, ACS goers had their pick of five different tours featuring Wisconsin dairy farms and creameries. I had a blast planning and leading the Driftless Tour of Wisconsin Sheep and Goat Dairies, visiting Dreamfarm in Cross Plains, Hidden Springs Creamery in Westby, and Nordic Creamery in Westby. With a local-foods lunch catered right on the farm and a perfect blue sky, this particular tour showcased the best of Wisconsin.

Thanks to Sarah Bekkum for leading the tour at Nordic Creamery!

Thanks to Brenda Jensen (first in line!) for leading us through her amazingly beautiful dairy sheep farm and creamery.

And thanks to Diana Murphy for showing us her goat farm and creamery!

Of course, there were the seminars. This being Wisconsin, we wanted to plan some not-so-usual tasting sessions, so we brought in experts from the University of Wisconsin to lead a fluid milk tasting …

… and the first-ever cheese curd tasting session!

Of course there were also more traditional seminars, such as a 90-minute educational session on the flavor profiles of Comte.

My favorite event is always the Meet the Cheesemaker, where this year, 70 cheesemakers from across the nation and Canada lined up their wares for show and tell. Of course some cheesemakers, such as Cesar and Heydi Luis are more photogenic than others. Say cheese!

The weather could not have been more perfect to welcome members of the University of Wisconsin marching band to the Monona Terrace rooftop, where the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board threw the mother of all opening conference parties, complete with a toe-tapping band, picnic-style food, mounds o’cheese and of course, free beer. This is Wisconsin, after all.

The conference proper wrapped up Saturday night with the annual Festival of Cheese, where Best in Show winner Winnimere from Jasper Hill Farm was featured (thanks to Mateo for having three cases overnighted to the festival so everyone could have a taste)!

And where tables of blue cheese …

And smoked cheese …

And, well, every kind of cheese filled a room to hold 1,200 attendees.

Many, many thanks to the hundreds of volunteers, ACS staff, cheesemakers and all attendees for helping make the 30th ACS so memorable. See you next year in Sacramento, California, July 29 – August 1.

This past week, I did what anyone who needs an excuse to go see some of her favorite cheesemakers would do: I organized a two-day artisan cheesemaker and craft beer tour of the Driftless Region. Fifteen members of Wisconsin Cheese Originals came along for a backstage pass to some of America’s finest food artisans.

First stop: Uplands Cheese near Dodgeville. Cheesemaker Andy Hatch, son August and wife Caitlin were amazing hosts, showing off one of America’s most famous farmstead cheese plants, home to Pleasant Ridge Reserve.

We also got a sneak peak at baby Rush Creek Reserves, which will hit the market in about a month. This washed-rind cheese, wrapped in spruce bark, is aging nicely in the aging rooms. I can’t wait to taste that yummy gooiness of a cheese — it’s been too long since I had my Rush Creek fix.

After waving goodbye to Andy, Caitlin and Baby August, we were off to Hook’s Cheese in Mineral Point. Owners Tony and Julie Hook are always the most gracious of hosts, and Tony was in an especially good mood, just having made his very first batch of goat milk blue the day before. He says he’ll know in six months whether his new goat blue (yet to be named) is a success, but with Tony’s track record, I’m pretty sure it’ll be a winner.

One of my favorite places to visit is Hooks’ cold storage, packed floor to ceiling with Cheddar just waiting to be eaten. I saw some 17-year Cheddar in there — fingers crossed it hits the market in the next year or two!

After a local lunch of pasty, corn casserole and pecan pie at the Brewery Creek cafe in Mineral Point, we were off to Potosi Brewery for a museum tour and beer tasting (because nothing goes better with cheese than beer, right?). The always amazing Sara Hill of the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board put together a full Potosi beer and Wisconsin cheese course together for us. My favorite pairing of the day: Potosi Cave Ale and Pleasant Ridge Reserve. Thank you, Sara!

After a four-course local-foods dinner and overnight at the Old Oak Inn Bed & Breakfast in Soldiers Grove, we were off bright and early to Hidden Springs Creamery near Westby. Owners Dean and Brenda Jensen took us on a wagon ride to get up and close and personal with their sheep, and trek through a little of Amish country. Aren’t we a good looking group? Check out this 20-second video of the Driftless Region.

Brenda gave us the full tour of her farmstead cheese factory, milking parlor, barns, farm bed and breakfast, and treated us to a tasting of the many award-winning sheep’s milk cheeses she makes by hand.

We were then treated to an on-farm lunch catered by Rooted Spoon in Viroqua. Owner Dani Lind made us some Hidden Springs Ocooch Mountain cheese cornbread & jalapeno honey butter, local greens salad with roasted beets, cucumbers, Hidden Springs Driftless cheese, sausage, pepitas, & fresh mint vinaigrette, fresh local fruit and some tasty purple basil & aronia berry lemonade. What a treat to eat a meal right from the area from which the ingredients were sourced.

Our last stop of the trip was Nordic Creamery, where we were greeted by owner Sarah Bekkum and given a VIP tour of the farmstead butter, cheese and ice cream plant. After a butter and cheese tasting, we ended our day with an ice cream cone made right at Nordic Creamery.

Thanks to everyone who joined me on the tour, and special thanks to our hosts and hostesses who showed off the Driftless Region with pride. I have no doubt we will be returning, and returning very soon!

Two women (spoiler alert: one of them is me) dedicated to teaching, writing, and most importantly, eating Wisconsin artisan cheeses, are teaming up to lead a fun fall class series at Fromagination in Madison.

Attendees may sign up for all three classes at $90 per person, or for each class separately at $30 per class. Class size is limited to just 15 people, making this an intimate and informal setting, perfect for asking questions. Sessions start at 7 p.m. and seats must be reserved in advance at www.wicheeseclass.com.

Tuesday, Sept. 25: Best Cheeses in AmericaHaving just returned from the 2012 American Cheese Society Conference, Sara and I will bring back five of the best new cheeses made in America. Attendees will taste five award-winning cheeses from around the country, learn their stories, and get the opportunity to purchase up to one-half pound of each to take home.

Thursday, Oct. 4: Ocktoberfest, Wisconsin StyleWho does craft beer and artisan cheese better than Wisconsin? No one. Attendees will taste four Wisconsin craft beers, expertly paired with four Wisconsin artisan cheeses, hearing the behind-the-scenes-stories of each beer and cheese.

Wednesday, Nov 14: European Vs. Wisconsin CheesesOld World favorites vs. New World upstarts: attendees will judge whether Wisconsin cheesemakers are holding their own, or may we daresay winning, the race in crafting world-class original cheeses. Attendees will taste eight cheeses, four European and four Wisconsin, hearing the stories of each, with the opportunity to purchase each at evening’s end.

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Cheese Underground is a blog and podcast written and co-produced by Jeanne Carpenter, an American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional.

Jeanne is an award-winning journalist, former spokesperson for the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, and was the specialty cheese buyer for Metcalfe’s Markets in Wisconsin.

Today, she and her husband, Uriah, own and run Firefly Coffeehouse & Artisan Cheese in their hometown of Oregon, Wisconsin, and are committed to building a community gathering place for folks who like good coffee, good food & good cheese.